Award Description

The awards for Exemplary Scholarly Contribution to School–University Partnerships are given annually by the National Association for School–University Partnerships (NASUP) to recognize one or more outstanding contributions to the academic and/or practitioner literature. The award acknowledges specific, written scholarly product(s) (e.g., peer-reviewed journal article, book, book chapter, etc.) that constitutes a significant intellectual advancement in empirical, theoretical, conceptual, historical, or other scholarship pertaining directly to, or conducted substantially within the context of, a school–university partnership. The award(s) will be presented annually at the NASUP national conference, and winners will be invited to present their scholarly contribution at a featured conference session.

Eligibility

• These awards are given in recognition of published scholarly products, regardless of the number of authors, but with preference given to scholarly products reflecting deep and sustained collaboration either as their central focus or surrounding context.
• The publication date of the scholarly products should fall within the two calendar years immediately preceding the award’s nomination deadline.
• One author must be a NASUP member at the time of the upcoming Annual Conference.
• If human subjects research was involved, evidence of institutional review board (IRB) approval must be included either in the publication itself or in the nomination materials.
• Nominated scholarly contributions must feature school–university partnerships either as their central focus (i.e., as the topic of the publication) or as the context for scholarship about another topic; in either case, integration of academic literature pertaining to school–university partnerships is expected.

Criteria

Each nomination will be reviewed in full; the nominated scholarly contribution will be closely evaluated for evidence of:

• Strong integration of academic literature pertaining to school–university partnerships
• Methodological rigor and/or innovation (if applicable)
• Theoretical and/or conceptual grounding or framework
• Significance and/or implications for the field of school–university partnerships
• Evidence of school–university partnership work, either as the publication’s central focus or surrounding context
• Alignment to NASUP’s mission and vision.

Application Materials

Each nomination must include a completed nomination form by the posted deadline. The form will include the following:

• A statement of impact detailing the scholarly product and its contributions to the field of school–university partnerships, clearly illustrating how the nominated scholarly contribution reflects alignment with the selection guidelines. This statement is limited to 500 words.
• A copy of the nominated scholarly contribution

Selection Process

• A selection committee appointed by NASUP, and including the current Research Committee Chair or Co-Chairs, will review all nominations.
• Each nomination will be reviewed in full; the nominated scholarly contribution will be closely evaluated for evidence of:
  • Strong integration of academic literature pertaining to school–university partnerships
  • Methodological rigor and/or innovation (if applicable)
  • Theoretical and/or conceptual grounding or framework
  • Significance and/or implications for the field of school–university partnerships
  • Evidence of school–university partnership work, either as the publication’s central focus or surrounding context
  • Alignment to NASUP’s mission and vision.

Selection Process Timeline

• The deadline for nominations for the 2027 award is October 22, 2026.
• The selection committee will notify the award winners by late November.

NASUP Annual Conference Contribution

• The winners (i.e. authors) will be invited and strongly encouraged  to present at the Research Symposium at the NASUP Annual Conference.. More information about the conference and Research Symposium will be sent to award winners.
• The NASUP 2027 Research Symposium will be held on March 11, 2027.